AL Comeback Player of Year- Tampa Bay Rays CF B.J. Upton
It took a better part of the 2008 season for the Tampa Bay Rays Centerfielder B.J. Upton to finally get the ball rolling. After 531 at-bats in the regular reason, Upton finished with just nine home runs and a .273 batting average. The young and supposed sensation failed to meet expectations and some rumors began to circulate that he was not going to start during the Rays playoff games. However, during the playoffs Upton was next to impossible to get out. Upton hit .288 with seven homeruns in 66 playoff at-bats. The potential for Upton this year is endless.
NL Comeback Player of the Year- Washington Nationals 1B Nick Johnson
Finally healthy and ready to play, local boy Nick Johnson should have a great season in 2009. The Washington Nationals first baseman was hurt for much of the 2008 season and only hit five homeruns and batted .220 in just 38 games. This year, Johnson will be batting behind free agent signee Adam Dunn, which should take much of the pressure away from Johnson.
AL Batting Champion- Texas Rangers 2B Ian Kinsler
Last year, the batting crown came down to the last month as Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia, Texas Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler and Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer battled for the top spot. Mauer was able to win the crown by two percentage points over Pedroia. Kinsler was injured late in August and fell out of the race. This year, Kinsler will be more motivated and stronger than ever and will win the 2009 batting crown.
NL Batting Champion- St. Louis Cardinals 1B Albert Pujols
No surprise here. St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols is one of the most mechanically sound hitters of all-time with a .334 career batting average. Over the last eight seasons, Pujols produced 319 homeruns and 977 runs-batted-in. Even during seasons where Pujols has been injured (2006-2008), he has still managed to hit .325 or better. During these same three seasons, Pujols has also managed to hit at least 32 homeruns.
AL Most Valuable Player- Tampa Bay Rays 3B Evan Longoria
This young superstar has all the makings of an MVP (except maybe the name). Despite playing in only 122 games last season, his rookie season, Longoria still smashed 27 homeruns during the regular season and hit six more during the playoffs. While an average of .272 was quite low, Longoria has the potential to hit .330 if he can remain healthy all season. Oh yeah, and he plays for the defending American League Champions, who show no sign of letting up in the 2009 season.
NL Most Valuable Player- Any NL Team LF Manny Ramirez
Even though Ramirez has not signed a contract this season, he appears to be staying in the National League. The three potential teams are the New York Mets, San Francisco Giants and, the most promising suitor, Los Angeles Dodgers. It also appears that Ramirez will be signing a one-year contract. What this means is Ramirez will still have the motivation to play well because he will, yet again, be in a contract year. And we all know what Ramirez can do with a little motivation, especially Red Sox fans.
AL Cy Young Award- Toronto Blue Jays SP Roy Halladay
Roy Halladay, the ageless wonder, appears to be the favorite for this year's Cy Young. The Blue Jay ace has thrown for at least 220 innings each of the last three seasons proving that he is not ready to slow down. A career record of 131-66 and a career ERA of 3.52 ERA are stats that will eventually put this superstar in the hall of fame. Not to mention that Halladay finished runner-up in the 2008 Cy Young voting.
NL Cy Young- SF Giants SP Tim Lincecum
The stats tell the story. 252 strikeouts to just 84 walks. 18 wins to just five losses. Lincecum also finished 2nd in the National League with a 2.52 ERA. Good enough to earn him last year's NL Cy Young award. This young sensation is phenomenal and as long as his "herky-jerky" motion does not give him shoulder problems, there will be many more Cy Young awards in this kid's future.
You can reach this writer at sports@theeagleonline.com.
